KIA’S electric car range has been rendered soul-less – but only because they’ve replaced the Soul EV with the EV3 as its smallest electric car in the range.

The newcomer sits below the Niro EV, EV6 and EV9, and you don’t have to look too hard to see a strong family resemblance between the smallest and the largest.

High on its list of plus points is its ability – in the right configuration – to travel up to 375 miles on a charge, and that beats any other electric Kia. Chuck in its comfortable ride, a lot of standard equipment and an initial list price that isn’t too scary and you’ve got quite a package.

There are two battery options, with the standard package cutting the range by around 100 miles – an option if range anxiety is a thing of the past for you.

But make copious use of the instant impetus available under your right foot and there’s a marked drop.

Of course other things to bear in mind with all electric vehicles are the variables – weather conditions, type of roads you’re using, temperature, how many accessories you’ve got switched on – so the range figures will vary.

What won’t alter much is the lack of noise in the cabin, nor the smooth ride both around town and on motorways when a) you’re not in a hurry and b) cruising.

The suspension feels well suspended from the pot-holed chaos around you, subduing the occasional thump, and in the main not dishing up any significant road noise from below.

EV3 has adjustable levels of regenerative braking, for harvesting energy under deceleration). This can give you the option of one pedal driving, meaning the EV3 can bring itself to a stop without you using the brake pedal at all.

If you think the interior looks a bit like the EV9, think again. It’s a LOT like its big brother, as they both have the same dash arrangement of a 12.3 inch digital display behind the steering wheel and a 12.3 inch infotainment touchscreen, the latter bang up to date with AI voice control.

Wireless Android Auto and Apple CarPlay are standard, and there are touch sensitive shortcut buttons below the screen which can be very touch sensitive if you’re not careful…

Vision all round is pretty good, and while the interior might look and feel a bit sparse, the quality is good enough and the seats, though feeling on the firm side, are not uncomfortably so and stand up well to a lengthy trip.

There are plenty storage areas, with a large central console, and there’s plenty of storage for us humans too. Plenty head and leg room in the front, and space for passengers in the rear appears more than adequate. There are USB-C sockets in the front setbacks to occupy youngsters. 

All come with a height-adjustable boot floor, plus a 25-litre storage area under the bonnet, where you can stow the charging cable.

Maximum charging speed depends on which battery you pick. The Standard Range can charge at up to 100kW, so expect a wait around half an hour for a 10-80 per cent charge.

Kia EV3 Air

Price: £35,995
Engine: 81.4kWh Li-on polymer battery
Power: 201bhp
Torque: 28lb/ft
Transmission: automatic
Top speed:105mph
0-62mph: 7.7 seconds
Range: 375 miles
CO2 emissions: 0g/km

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